Poetry and Coffee
by pearlqueen55
Summary: Cindy is off to college in New York City where she also works as a waitress part time. It has been years since she has seen or even thought of Jimmy but now it is Christmas time in the Big Apple and anything is bound to happen! Fluff (I do not own anything of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron!)
1. Chapter 1

Cindy sighed to herself as she looked at the time

Late, Dee's going to kill me no doubt!

She scrammed out of bed and quickly took a shower, got her uniform on, and checked herself out in the mirror. Her nineteen year old self looked back at her as she struggled to put her hair up in a messy ponytail. Over the years, Cindy had grown up to be a beautiful young woman with her perfect figure and fair skin. After her hair was up, she straightened her waitress outfit and sighed for the second time that morning.

_Here we go again._

She raced out of her apartment and walked down the street to the nearest subway station. Cindy was still getting used to her life in New York City; especially her college work. Coming from a small town like Retroville to Columbia University was clearly a huge change. Her mother had insisted that she should go because after all it was such a "prestigious school with many opportunities for her to grow and develop". Cindy boarded the subway and sat down next to an old man wearing a business coat and yelling into his blue tooth. She looked out into the rest of the train filled with strangers with different appearances and destinations. A pang of homesickness hit her hard in the stomach and she ached to go back home and visit Retroville. It's not that she did not enjoy her time here at New York, its just that she has not been back in three months and she wanted to see some friendly faces. The last time she saw Libby, Carl, or Sheen was when they dropped her off at the airport.

She smiled faintly at the memories of them all going off on adventures with Neutron andalmost gotten themselves killed with their naive minds.

_Neutron_

It has been almost five year now since she last saw or really thought about him. He was of course still a menace to Retroville and by the time he was fifteen, more and more problems arose. Yet, somehow the town always managed to forgive him and it seemed like everything was going to be fine. Even with their own relationship starting to blossom, Cindy had seen more of Jimmy and actually hung out together without any of their other friends a few time. Just as quickly as it had come, Jimmy announced he was leaving for college in a week and that he needed to find his own true potential.

Cindy had expected herself to be mad at him and absolutly hate his guts for leaving, but that never came. If anything, she was kinda glad that he was leaving to find himself, because she always felt like he didn't think he belonged in this society and that he had to use his talent elsewhere. Sure, she was going to miss him, but she had been expecting it for a long time now. The way he would stare at the teacher with a bored expression in class or when he looked through their school textbooks with an appetite for something more challenging. If Jimmy had to be gone, then at least she understood.

Carl and Sheen, of course, took it pretty hard, but they soon came to understand his life choices. Jimmy had left on a rainy day in the middle of November to go move away with his parents off to some city as he promised he would always keep in contact.

That was the last time we ever saw him again.

Yes there were times when they saw him in the news for wrecking something and then restoring peace back into it, but he never called any of the gang ever since he left. Sheen and Carl kept trying to reach him only to get voicemail at every attempt. However as the time had passed, they stopped trying.

The only regret Cindy ever had from the whole experience was not giving him a proper goodbye. There was no hug, no tears, not even a wave.

All Jimmy said to her was, "May we meet again, Vortex"

_One day, Neutron. One day. _

Cindy was finally able to make it to the cafe restaurant she worked at called "Dee's Place". The "place" itself was a tourist attraction ever since an Academy Award Winning Movie had been shot there a few years back. As Cindy clocked into work and grabbed her apron off the rack, her boss (the one and only Deen) came rushing towards her with a panicked expression on his face.

Deen was a good guy really and also really good looking. He is in his early thirties and starting owning the shop when his grandfather had left him the money and place all to him when he was eighteen. A good number of the female customers came into the shop regularly to catch a glance at Deen while they ordered practically every single thing on the menu. If Deen wasn't gay, then practically every waitress who worked for him would strive for the chance. However, out of all the workers, he liked Cindy the best because she was funny.

And she never checked him out in secret.

"Yo Cind! Where you been? We got like a hundred people here today!." Dean exclaimed to the young blonde.

"Sorry, boss. I slept in by accident. Won't happen again, I swear."

Deen gave her a mock stern look and walked away but not before saying, "You got double the number of tables for the shift!"

Cindy groaned but knew she deserved it. As she picked up some menus and a notepad, she was off to work. With a grin on her face and pencil in one hand she quickly went to take orders from the tables.

Today was going to be a long day, indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

Even though being a waitress was a crummy paying job, Cindy couldn't help but enjoy herself as she immersed in her work. There was something about meeting rich city people or wide-eyed tourists that always seems to make her smile. After a few hours of taking orders and delivering various beverages and pastries, Cindy noticed a familiar freckled, red hair 20 year old girl storm into the place with an impatient look displayed on her face. She stood with her hands on her hips and tapping her foot until Cindy had the chance to make her way over to the red head.

"Ok, Zoe. What am I doing wrong now?", asked Cindy as she wiped her brow and rested a tray of cupcakes on her shoulder.

Zoella was the closest friend Cindy had since she moved to New York. They both ended up being roomed together in their first years at Columbia and ended up moving to an apartment together for their second year. Even though the two young adults bonded fairly well, they could not be any more different. Zoe was the black sheep in her rich, upper class family with her punk rock tee shirts and ripped up skinny jeans. She had pale skin and waist length hair with razor bangs that fell down just an inch above her blue eyes. Zoe was the type of girl everyone wanted to be, but just didn't have the courage. Everyone but her.

Zoe's parents were willing to let her pursue in any career of her choice, granted she keeps her grades up. With Zoe's talent in design, she went off to Columbia to study as an architect. With her wits and passion, it is not a surprise that all her teachers adore her. Cindy was no different.

Zoe rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Hello? We have class in like an hour and I know you are not wearing that to the first day, Cind."

Puzzled, Cindy replied, "Class? What are you talking about? It's Friday, I don't have any classes until Monday."

"Aw man, don't tell me you forgot about the class we both signed up together! Poetry. Remeber? Kinda need that class in order to graduate?"

"Arg! I feel so stupid!" she cried in frustration as she quickly put down her platter and ran to the back of the restaurant where she found Dee talking on the phone and writing down an order on a notepad.

When he got off, he said, "Class in an hour, gotcha. Zoe called an hour ago asking if you were here. Go." He held out a hand for her apron with a smirk on his face.

"You knew she called and you didn't even care to tell me?!" Cindy cried.

"Oh, must have slipped my mind." he winked as she threw her apron at him and gave a playful shove.

Cindy quickly clocked off and headed out the door with Zoe by her side, who was pulling on a leather jacket to stay warm.

"Hey Flo, where's your coat?", Zoe asked looking at Cindy, who was in nothing but her light blue waitress dress that left her shoulders and legs bare.

Cindy shivered and she wrapped her arms around her bare shoulders. "F-f-forgot it in cafe."

Zoe sighed as she shrugged off hers and put in on her friend who flashed her a thankful look. "Yeah, yeah" she grumbled now wrapping up in her own arms.

The weather in New York during December was stunning. It would snow practically all throughout the day which always amazed Cindy because she never got that much back in Retroville; save for the time that Jimmy brought the modern Ice Age upon them.

People walked down the streets with long coats are scarves, struggling to keep themselves warm against the cold weather. She saw many young adults walk by with their phones in one hand and a coffee cups in another walking swiftly to their destination.

Cindy sighed happily as she took in the atmosphere around her while Zoe looked at her like she was a nut case and rolled her eyes.

Ten minutes and a subway trip later, the two made it back to their apartment without becoming icicles. Cindy rushed to her bedroom and changed out of her work attire to something more practical: a checkered mint green sweater with dark blue skinny jeans with chestnut brown UGG's at her feet. Pulling the hair tie out of her ponytail, Cindy quickly brushed through the knotted excuse for human hair and then ran out to the living room when she was done to meet Zoe.

Zoe sat on their dark green couch with her feet up on the coffee table as she was playing on her phone. When she saw Cindy come into the room, she said, "Finally! Let's bounce."

She quickly got up from her position and headed out the door; leading the way.

Cindy grabbed her bag and smiled while rolling her eyes. Soon she was out the door as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Cindy and Zoe arrived at the university about twenty minutes later.

Cindy panted heavily having to keep up with her friend's pace; who, unlike herself, was dedicated to not arriving late on the first day of class.

"Why are you so anxious to go to class?" Cindy asked, huffing up air as she walked closely behind Zoe, "You never care much for class other than those revolving your major; especially not a G.E."

Zoe turned back at her with a playful grin, "I heard that we got a new professor to the school and this is the first class he is teaching at this school. I need to know how cool he is so I can ditch after fifteen minutes because there is no way I am staying in this class for two hours every Friday."

Cindy chuckled and speed up her pace to get right next to Zoe. Finally the two friends had made it to the classroom where the sat directly in the back row. Zoe looked at the clock and smiled.

"Hey! We're eight minutes early! Not too shabby!"

Cindy glared at her for having to be so fast but soon smiled too. She took out her laptop sleeve from her chestnut brown crossbody and removed her Macbook from it. After booting up her computer, she surfed through emails, notes, or anything else that would keep her busy for the time being.

Zoe suddenly stood up four minutes later to curse her extra large ice coffee that morning and stormed off to the bathroom. Chuckling, Cindy went back to her computer. All around her, she could hear the sounds of students piling into the classroom all chattering and laughing. Some were complaining about having to take this class by force and others were excited to learn about poetry. After taking a swift look around, Cindy concluded there were around forty students in the class; all squeaking their wood chairs down from their folded positions under the desks.

On both sides of the classroom were large windows that covered half of the wall starting from the end; giving Cindy a clear view of the snow falling down on the campus. At the front of the class was the classic chalkboard as well as the empty teacher's desk.

Cindy looked at the time from her computer. _Two minutes left, this teacher is really cutting it close._

All of a sudden she heard the door open with a boom and Cindy was startled from her thoughts. She struggled putting her laptop back in her sleeve and bag; not seeing who the person was just yet.

"Sorry I'm late class, lost the time!" the stranger said, who Cindy guessed was the professor. When she was done putting her laptop away, a sea of college students covered her view to the teacher in the front. Cursing Zoe for choosing their seats, Cindy struggled to look in the front. Should she move?

After a few minutes of getting settled in, she finally heard the professor speak.

"Ok guys, I understand probably more than half of you are in here just because Poetry is a G.E. and will try to ditch class most of the time, honestly I do not blame you." the mysterious teacher said as the class laughed. "When I had to take the class at college, I was a naive 15 year old without the slightest drop of creativity within my body. Why focus on the literature works of the past while there was more significant things to learn about? I constantly left class and was scolded numerous times by my parents and teacher; so eventually I stayed."

Cindy looked outside as she heard the professor spoke. 15? Not bad at all. Was he taking college classes on the side while going to highschool?

"By going to class, I found myself immerse in the content. I found inspiration in the smallest things and thrived to look for more. If it was not for that class, I would never have studied into it more or did a side teaching job. To find the true extent of humanity, we have to understand other's perspective on life. We need to understand how to express love and pain or even just humor. True, we can do that with novels or documentaries, but what about the passionate or emotional aspect? Poetry is not just a hobby or a pastime, but a guide to morality and representation of our inner selves; whether we know what it is or not. Trust me, I was not truly aware of mine." Cindy heard chuckling follow.

"So before you guys go off into your own ways about whether or not this class is worth taking or if even you have to try, I guarantee you will not be disappointed."

There was a little silence after he said the last line of his speech, and then the class clapped a little and murmured among themselves.

"Woah.." Zoe said next to Cindy, who did not even notice her friend come into class.

Cindy smirker and asked, "Second guessing your leave?"

Zoe gave a sly grin and her eyebrows rose, "Ok Mom, you got me. I'll stay."

Cindy smiled warmly at her and whispered, "It would be better if we could see though. I didn't even get a chance to look at our professor!"

Zoe pointed out and two vacant seats near the middle row and whispered back, "Then let's make our move."

The professor just then cleared his throat as the two young adults started gathering their belongings.

"I am going to take attendance; you know the drill."

Cindy and Zoe rose and started making their way across to room, trying not to make too much noise and avoid eye contact.

"Jesse Adams?"

"Here!"

Cindy shuffled through various seats while her friend followed closely behind.

The professor kept going down the list.

"Samantha Mason?"

"Here.."

Finally the two had made it to the table and got settled in. Cindy put her bag down and stretched out her arms across the table. Zoe poked her playfully.

"Zoella Simmons?"

"Here."

Cindy put her bag down on the floor and started pulling her notebook and pencil out. Struggling to find her cell phone so she could switch it to silent, she dug deep into the bottom of the bag.

_Don't tell me I left it in my room! How am I sup-_

"Cynthia…...Vortex?!"

Cindy turned up to look but hit her head on the bottom of the table.

_Real smooth, Vortex. _

Rubbing her sore head, she rose to finally look up at the teacher.

_Holy shit._


	4. Chapter 4

Cindy grew pale at the sight in front of her.

_No way. There is absolutely no way._

In front of her stood everything she had loved and despised all together. A pool of blue eyes meet her green ones as she took in the sight. A surprisingly tall man stood before her; and he would look just like any other man to anyone.

But not to her.

His chocolate brown hair was lazily flung flopped over in the front of his face; making him look sophisticated and relaxed all at the same time. He had a broad jawline as well as a slight four o'clock shadow. He wore a black striped dress shirt with a black tie and his sleeves were cuffed at the elbows. His dress pants plain black along with his shoes.

But Cindy was not fooled.

At the end of his tie; there was an embroidered yellow atom icon.

His icon.

She opened her mouth at him and clenched her hands tightly. She felt like she was going down.

Fast.

Non Other than James Isaac Neutron stood before her with his mouth hanging open at the her. He slowly approached her with curious eyes.

Cindy felt sick as she slowly slid down to her chair to rest. Zoe looked at her with a hint of worry and confusion but made no attempt to ask at the moment.

Her once childhood friend finally reached her table and took a good look at her. As if he was taking in some new data and comparing it to the old. He said nothing for a few seconds and then cleared his throat, "It's um nice to see you again, Miss Vortex…"

Cindy went scarlet in the face.

_Miss Vortex?_

Realizing that there were other students in the room, she caught the hint.

The last thing she needed was to make a scene.

"Err, good to see you too, Mr. Neutron."

_This is too weird. _

"Well, hehe, I believe that is everyone on the attendance list." Jimmy said laughing awkwardly while trying to recover from the shock.

The students whispered among themselves as they stared at Cindy and Jimmy.

Cindy could hear them from all around her as she shrunk in her seat; girls texting on their phones, guys looking at their friends with raised eyebrows, and the giggles that emerged from these conversations.

Jimmy, who seemed to regain his strength back, cleared his throat loudly and the class seemed to quiet down at the noise. He gave a slight smirk when the madness stopped.

"Ok, since it is the first class, I am not going to be too demanding or keep you in for too long. Well, not yet anyway." he said giving a devilish smile, "Since I think syllabuses are a waste of paper and time, I am just going to tell you what I expect from you guys. 50% of your grade will be based on how well you can analyze poetry and the other on the various tests and quizzes. I can not express how much that knowing the material is crucial for doing well in this class; so I suggest you pay attention. Now for your first homework assignment," at these words the whole class flinched, "I want you to find me a short poem and bring it into class next week. We'll discuss it and interpret it into everyday life. So until then, class dismissed!"

As if on cue, the entire class quickly jammed their stuff into their bags and fled from the class. Cindy sighed a breath of relief; she left like if she stayed any longer she would burst.

Zoe turned over to Cindy with an eyebrow raised and gave her a I-want-answers-now face.

Cindy looked over at Jimmy who was picking up some paperwork off his desk; as if nothing had happened. Her stomach twisted inside and she felt her hands shake a bit; but she was not going to let that stop her. Turning to Zoe, she said, "Hey I'll meet you in the apartment in an hour. There's something I got to do."

Zoe shrugged at her friend, grabbed her bag, gave one last look at Cindy, and headed out the room.

That left only her and her professor in the room.

Her _professor._

Gathering her small amount of courage, Cindy finally got up from her seat to walk over to Jimmy; which would have been cooler if she didn't trip on her chair and fall face down.

Alarmed, Jimmy came over to her quickly and offered a hand to help her up. "Are you ok, Cindy?"

_Whoa_

It has been a long time since she heard his voice say her name. She looked up to his face where he was bent down and a genuine look of concern.

Was she ok?

Cindy took his hand and was lifted off the ground with her old friend's help. She looked up to Jimmy tried to read his voice. Over the years, he was now so much taller than her and super healthy.

She felt herself growing gradually angry. Sheen and Carl have been trying so hard to contact him and now here he is on a silver platter without a care in the world. How can anyone be so distant? Especially to your best friends?

She scowled at him and and took her hand away from him. Without any warning, she blurted out, "How come you never called or emailed Sheen and Carl? Do you know how long the tried to keep in contact with you until they gave up? Why would anyone do that to their own best friends?"

There was a long silence after that between the two. Jimmy sighed heavily after a minute and ran his hands through his hair with his eyes closed. Cindy stood waiting with her arms crossed for an explanation.

Jimmy looked at her and said, "When my parents told me that we were moving away for college, I was both thrilled and heart broken. I knew that moving away would mean that I would have to either keep contact with you guys or stop completely; it's obvious now that I chose the second. It was hard; but I had to do it because I did not want you guys to still be tied down by me. I hoped that you guys would live your life without having to worry about what their friend blew up today or how he almost got killed by aliens."

Cindy blinked in surprise and gave him a suspicious look.

_How many times did he almost get killed?_

"How are Carl and Sheen though?" Jimmy asked casually with a hint of worry in his voice.

Cindy looked at him hard and then sighed, "Carl got sent off to Australia by some corporation to study llamas or something. Sheen somehow got discovered by a modeling agency that freak out everytime he changes his socks I guess."

Jimmy chuckled and murmured, "Makes sense."

Cindy looked down to the ground; she didn't know what to say next. She was the fierce Cindy Vortex who was not supposed to be nervous about anything-or anyone. But now as she looks up at the person she expected last to see, she couldn't find the words for anything.

When Neutron left her life, she thought he left for good.

Not to come crashing back as her professor.


	5. Chapter 5

After that blast from the past, Cindy told Jimmy she had to go and quickly left without giving him a chance to reply.

She had enough surprises for the day.

When she reached her apartment, she was greeted by a suspicious looking Zoe who sat in an armchair with her arms crossed. The fireplace was lit and on the coffee table stood two cups of hot chocolate. Cindy gave her a thankful look as she kicked off her Uggs and slid down on their couch grabbing the cup.

"Do I ever tell you that you're like the best roommate ever?", Cindy purred as she cuddled into the couch and snuggled with a pillow.

"Not enough." Zoe said, rolling her eyes, "Now, tell me how do you and Mr. Poetry know each other?"

Cindy sighed as she set her cup down on the table and stretched out her legs. "He was like my childhood friend ever since like elementary school."

Zoe gasped with a smile, "He was your friend! Wait how old is this guy?"

"Same age as us. He was a genius for as long as I could remember, so he went to college at fourteen. That was the last time I had seen him; well err..until today."

Cindy then went on to tell her about a lot of adventures Neutron had taken her and the gang back when they were younger. Zoe sat with wide eyes through the whole thing.

"Wait, you're telling me that you almost died in space like ten times!" Zoe exclaimed when Cindy was done.

"Umm..pretty much?"

"Dude, that's like the coolest thing ever! I wish I had a childhood crush who took me out on life-threatening missions!"

"Yeah it-hey! He wasn't my boyfriend or anything! We competed a lot against each other in school and stuff. Plus, we hung out with the same people."

Zoe wiggled her eyebrows as she put her feet on the coffee table and arms over her head. "If you ask me, Cind, both of you turned red when you saw each other today. I just figured you two hooked up and then saw each other again."

Cindy stuck out her tongue, "Ew! Don't be gross, Zoe."

Chuckling, Zoe rose from her seat and started to put her boots on. Grabbing her coat, Zoe said, "Well, I'm off. I gotta go see my partner for some project that's worth like half our grade. This discussion about your childhood love is not over!"

"Just make sure you are back before 8, honey. You know how stressful the kids can be." Cindy teased as she reached for her hot coco.

Zoe smiled, "Just make sure you keep the dinner warm, dear." with that she left the apartment.

Left by herself, Cindy continued to drink her hot chocolate as she pulled out her iPhone and pressed her speed dial. She put her phone on her ear as she waited for the receiving end to pick up.

"Hey girl, what's up?" her best friend said when she picked up. Libby Folfax was now in Seattle, studying fashion from the best designers from all over the world. She was an intern for a huge international fashion line that practically adored her.

"Libby, today has just been a mess…" Cindy said before filling her in with all the details of Professor Neutron.

When she was done, she heard complete silence on the other end for a few seconds.

"Wait, you're telling me that our big-headed Jimmy is your poetry professor?!"

"I'm just as surprised as you, Libby."

"Girl, I don't know what to say. He stopped talking to us like a long time ago; but from what you are telling me, it does sound like he misses Carl and Sheen."

"I'm not sure what to do, especially since I have to see him like every Friday for this dumb class."

"Wish I knew how to help you, Cindy." Libby sighed into the phone, "Keep me posted on what happens. Alright, I gotta go, my boss is paging me. Sheen sends his love! I'll call you as soon as I can, love you!" With that, Libby quickly ended the phone call.

Cindy smiled faintly. Now that her best friend was across the country, it was hard trying to find time to speak to her. Putting down her phone, Cindy grabbed her laptop sleeve from her purse and went to her room where she studied for a few hours.

When the clock shined 8:30, Cindy was exhausted from her work. Zoe arrived a few seconds later with two take out bags from Chipotle.

"Ok, you seriously are the best roommate ever." Cindy sighed with happiness as she took out her burrito bowl from the bag.

"Oh stop, I'm blushing."

The two ate their dinner while watching old reruns of _That 70's Show_.

That night, after Cindy had showered and went to bed, she dreamed of crystal blue pools and chocolate sundaes.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dee! Why the heck is this place so jammed pack?!" Cindy exclaimed as she struggled to fit twelve pieces of cake onto a large tray.

The cafe had been pretty slow that Saturday morning, but started to pick up after about nine. The tables were filled with people ranging from all backgrounds; tourists who were looking around the place in amazement and college students who had their laptops out and were just looking for a place relax.

Cindy and a few other waitresses were hard at work as they hurried to take the orders from every table and to also clean up the ones that have just been used. It was times like these that made Cindy wonder about her choice of occupation.

"Only a week left until Christmas! They city is bright and vibrant, filled with coffee-loving customers! There's nothing I love more than the holidays." Dee gushed as he took out the wads of money from the cash register.

Cindy rolled her eyes from behind the counter as she picked up the tray, "Why does that mean more money for you to invest in more tights?"

"You know I can rock those little devils more than you could ever, honey!" Dee said snapping his fingers and giving her a sly wink.

Cindy looked up and grinned as she brought the tray over to the waiting customers. They smiled politely at her as she passed out the pastries in front of them.

One of the older ladies at the table gave her a warm smile and asked "Now what is a young and pretty woman like you doing out here on a Saturday? Should you not be out and having fun with other kids your age?"

Cindy gave a small laugh and a frown when she heard Dee yell from a far behind her "That's what I keep telling her!"

The lady smiled at her one more time before engaging in a conversation next to the man sitting next to her.

As Cindy walked away from the table, she sighed to herself. She never did anything fun anymore simply because she never had the friends to go with or even the courage. Sure she had Zoe, but she usually hung out with a different crowd and Cindy was not used to chilling with people who smoked pot five times a day. Which is usually why Zoe never asks her and Cindy never asks to go along with her. Spending days in the apartment is really lonely; especially when you've already studied you textbook fifty times. For this reason, Cindy works countless shifts at the cafe; even though Dee constantly tries to get her out of the store so that she could go "live her life to the fullest".

When Cindy got back to the back counter, she put the tray down and wiped her brow. She was completely wiped and all she really wanted at the moment was a nice, hot bubble bath.

Dee came next to her with glasses on and a notebook and pencil in both hands.

"Hey what time do you want to get off today?"

Cindy gave a dry laugh and replied, "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Dee gave her a look as he put down the notepad and said "Girl, you are not supposed to be locked away like a cage as your youth slips from you! Trust me, I have been there and it is not pretty."

"Dee, you're barely thirty"

"What's your point?"

Cindy rolled her eyes as she went to go wash her hands in the back room. Dee followed closely behind her, writing something on his notebook.

"Now that I know that you are not doing anything, here." Dee said as he have Cindy a piece of paper as she was drying her hands with a towel.

Cindy squinted down at the girl handwriting, "Your address?"

"I am throwing a little party in my apartment with my old friends from high school. A lot of them a single hot guys who are ready to mingle." Dee said playing with his eyebrows in a suggestive way.

Cindy snorted and replied "Please, do you really think I have nothing better to do than go to your pity party offer."

"Um yeah. I'm closing down the shop early, so you can't work here overtime tonight. Making you free!" Dee sang back as he walked back to the front of the shop. "Oh and make sure you wear something hot!"

Cindy sighed again for the second time that day as she looked down at the piece of paper in her hand. What else was she going to do on this Saturday night? Order a pizza and hope they come thirty minutes late so that its free? She stayed inside her room so much, that even her hard-headed mother was starting worry why she never got out more often.

She needed to do something worthwhile and risky for once. This might be her only opportunity to do that. After taking a deep breath, Cindy thought to herself,

_Let's do this. _

Cindy shoved the piece of paper in her dress pocket and took off her apron. She grabbed her coat that was still on the rack from yesterday as she headed through the front exit.

Dee saw her leaving and called out,

"Don't forget to wear heels!"

Cindy pushed one article of clothing after the other and she went through her closet. Why did she have nothing to wear?! Oh yeah, she never left to go shopping.

Mentally cursing herself, she kept pushing past until she reached the end with no luck. Aggravated, she laid down on her bed and pushed a pillow into her face and yelled into it.

"Didn't mean to walk into your little teenage rebellion, but what the heck are you doing?" Zoe asked in a questioning tone as she came into the shared room and lept onto her own bed and kicked off her boots.

Speaking from the pillow, Cindy mumbled, "I haf tah finnd an owwtbit por bonight."

"Is it like a hot date?"

"En a vay"

"Yikes!" Zoe said as she took out her phone and starting the text, "I've seen your wardrobe, I don't think that dressing like Mrs. Doubtfire is going to help you here."

Taking the pillow off her face, Cindy groaned up to the heavens and asked, "What am I going to do."

Turning her phone off, Zoe leaped from the bed. "Lucky for you, your awesome roommate has an awesome taste in fashion and is very generous."

Cindy gave her a thankful grin as she hopped off her own bed and slide into Zoe's with a big hug. "Aww you wuv me!" Cindy said as she wrapped her arms around her roommate.

Zoe playfully pushed her off and replied, "Yeah yeah. Now get off me so we can make you look hot!"

Cindy removed herself and Zoe leapt from her bed to her own closet that was filled edge to edge with clothes that Zoe has never even worn. Since Zoe's grandparents do not really approve of her "artistic quality", the keep sending her clothes that would make any girl teenager squeal with joy. But this was not the case here. Cindy had to look hot.

Like really hot.

Zoe had an evil smirk on her face as she shuffled through her clothes. "By the time that I am done with you, every guy will turn their head and pray that you were theirs."

Taking a dress from the closet and holding it over her head, Zoe exclaimed, "Ah! Here it is!"


	7. Chapter 7

Cindy shivered and pulled her coat closer around her as she stared out of the cab window that was driving her to Dee's apartment. After Zoe had dressed her up and did her makeup, she gave her a matching clutch with her outfit and pushed her out of the apartment door, only opening it again to toss her a coat and scarf to keep warm.

Cindy growled and though _"I really need to make more friends." _as she smoothed down the bottom of her dress that was coming down from her long overcoat and scarf. She looked outside the window and saw that the streets of New York was covered in Christmas lights and people who were bundled up in clothing but still somehow managed to look fashionable. Cindy sighed happily as she looked at the lights and the snow that softly came down from the sky.

_"__I hope I am not making a mistake coming here.."_

After ten minutes, the cab came to a slow stop in front of a fancy apartment complex. Cindy smirked as she saw rich people with giant fur coats come in and out of the store.

"_So this is where all the tip money goes to!" _Cindy joked to herself and she shook her head in amusement.

The cab driver opened her door and she kindly paid her fare before thanking him. The driver gave a warm smile and wave before finally taking off. As Cindy watched him go, she felt a knot of worry and excitement form in her stomach. She was both scared and thrilled to be going to Dee's party. Ecstatic because of her outfit, but nervous that she would make a complete doof of herself to everyone there.

Zoe definitely did not disappoint Cindy's clothing choice; for they were able to make her look hot and classy and the same time. Under her coat, the blonde-haired beauty had on a dark blue and grey sleeveless dress that was tight-fitted at the top but softly fanned down just above her knees. She also had on a pair of stylish strappy black heels and her hair was up in a ponytail with soft curls. Cindy carried with her a black clutch and pearl earrings were adorned on her ears. Sexy yet modest.

Struggling to get her feelings in check, she walked reluctantly to the door of the building. The doorman opened it and gave her a slight smile, to which Cindy smiled back and hurried inside to get out of the cold where she onto the elevator to go up into Dee's floor. When she got off and found the door, she found herself incapable of opening it. Sure she wanted to have a good time and make friends, but she was worried that she would end up getting bored and not having anyone to talk to. Just before she could make up her mind, the door swung open.

Dee popped his head out and looked up and down Cindy with his mouth open.

"Oh my god! You look fabulous!" Dee said in excitement, "I mean look at you! You are the definition of perfection!"

"Oh stop I'm blushing." Cindy joked as her worries started to ease away.

Dee opened the door enough for Cindy and led the way inside. The interior of the house had this sort of vintage vibe to it with it's old classic movie posters and antique merchandise from the 60's. The living room looked had an old-school looking bar and all the people there were talking casually with one another as they drank from fancy wine glasses.

"Do you want something to drink pretty lady?" Dee asked Cindy motioning to the bar.

"Ahh maybe in a bit, Dee." Cindy replied looking around at the sight around her.

"Oh playing hard to get! I love it!" Dee laughed with her as he led her to the living room where a circle of people were sitting and engaging in conversation.

"Everyone, this is Cindy!" Dee said as he showed he off like a trophy in a glass case.

The group welcomed the blonde in with open arms and took turns introducing themselves to her. From what Cindy could make out of it, most of the people there were Dee's college buddies and others were people he knew before and after. The one pixie-cut hair girl named Lyla made room for Cindy on the couch and asked, "So you are the famous waitress who never leaves the cafe that we have been hearing about all this time!"

Cindy blushed at this and replied, "So I guess there are no secrets between Dee and the rest of the world."

Lyla laughed at this and said, "Hey there is nothing wrong with being a hermit from time to time. It happens to all of us, even the most sociable ones. Dylan over there used to party every day in college but when junior year came around, he was in his room so much that the rest of us thought he transferred!"

A buff looking guy from the group grinned and said, "Yeah! When they finally saw me in the cafeteria, they apologized for not throwing a welcome back party!"

The group laughed at this and broke off into their own individual conversations. Lyla turned back to Cindy and asked, "So are you here to meet someone new?"

Cindy nervously laughed and said, "Ahh...I don't think so. I was just amazed that I could get out of the apartment!"

"C'mon! You are so young and pretty, any guy would be lucky to have you in their arms. Plus if you want a few pointers," Lyla said as she leaned in close to Cindy to whisper, "there are a few hot, single guys near the bar. And if I say so myself, a few of them have been eyeing you ever since you got here. So if you change your mind…" Lyla trailed off intentionally.

Cindy merely chuckled, there was no way that she was going to talk to strange guys at Dee's party. But she did want to get a cup of soda from the bar because it was starting to feel stuffy in the house.

Excusing herself from the group, she got up and made her way to the bar where many people were talking flirtatiously with one and another. Quickly finding a bartender, she requested a ginger ale and waited patiently on one of the stools as her drink was being poured.

When she got her drink, she sat there for a bit just casually sipping the soft beverage. What was the rush to get back to Dee's friends? She took her phone out of her clutch and surfed through messages from family as well as reminders.

After about ten minutes, someone sat in the stool next to her and asked the bartender in a, "Do you guys have any Purple Flurp to spare within this household?"

Intrigued upon hearing that someone outside her childhood town was into the drink, Cindy put her phone down and tapped the person on the shoulder to get their attention.

The man turned his face around and Cindy almost choked on her soda.

This weekend was just full of surprises, wasn't it?


End file.
